• Scratic
• On December 8, 2012

What’s the “hot” new toy this year? What is the “Tickle Me Elmo” of 2012?  Who knows?  That sort of toy desire or Elmo-envy has fallen off sharply every year. In fact, this year most of the people that you ask couldn’t tell you.  Heck, I don’t know, and we have a three year old.  I do know what she wants, and if you watch any children’s programming you know that the marketers of Pop the Pig, Dream Lights and Stompeez have done their homework on how to market to kids.  

Kids have notoriously low sales resistance, much like myself, but I do have some other ideas on what they might love finding under the tree this year.

Stuffed Fun

Super Grover – $29.99

In the tradition of Tickle Me Elmo comes another great (and LONG overdue) Sesame Street Toy.  Pretend he’s flying and his head and arms turn in the direction he’s heading.  He sings too.  I want one just for the nostalgia.

Super Grover to the… whatever it is that Super Grover does

Old School Cool

FAO Schwarz Classic Derby Car – $69.99

I’m not even old enough to truly appreciate the nostalgia of this one, but I still love it, and I’d bet you a Super Grover that your kid will too.

FAO Schwarz Classic Derby Car

I’m not sure why I picked two toys with so much nostalgic appeal. Maybe it’s because I’m supposed to be writing a post about my favorite Christmas memory, maybe it’s because I’m listening to some crooners from the forties, hard to say.  Regardless, these are some cool kids’ gifts.

Now that we’ve covered nostalgia and stuffed super heroes I feel like I need to more tech.

I mentioned the downfall of the “hot” toy.  What happened to it?  A lot of things came together at the right time to make it harder for there to be one hot toy each year.  The biggest things being portable multi-use tablets, i.e. the iPad, and video games consoles in general.

The Biggest Little Thing.  The iPad Mini (this one is on a lot of lists) – Starting at $329

Nervous about handing your full size, heavy-ass, glass and aluminum wad of cash to your kid?  Think about this, smaller dimensions for smaller hands, plus it can do everything that its big brother can.

FYI, Stephanie thinks the Nabi is a better option for little ones. Read about her weird opinions here.

Game Console, The Nintendo Wii U – Starting at $299

Nintendo is the first in the race among the major game console makers to bring a new unit to market, and once again they’ve turned the world upside down by adding a screen to the controller.  There’s a lot to cover on these, but I’ll save you some time and headache.  Spend the extra money and get $349 Deluxe package.

By the way, if you’re looking for a fun stocking stuffer be sure to enter the Piggy Paint “Mistle Toes” stocking stuffer giveaway. If you’re a local reader enter to win two tickets to opening night of Catch Me if You Can at Walton Arts Center.

 What tech gift are you (er…  is Santa) putting under the tree for the kids?